It Works Because We Want It To
by amantle
Summary: Slight AU. Atsuko/OFC! This is totally self indulgent and I do like Tokita, but I always felt like Atsuko was at least bi. So, I wanted to explore this a bit and see how it worked out. This is what happened. One shot! Fluff! A bit of smut! Doctors!


Atsuko Tokita, formerly known as Atsuko Chiba, had spent the last two years of her marriage buried in work. Work that she had purposefully made for herself to distract from her failing marriage to Kosaku Tokita.

Kosaku was a genius and a wonderful person, if a bit of a child, but Atsuko loved him from the bottom of her heart and continued to love him. Even if it meant only as friends.

In the beginning, they were happy. Atsuko would sit and listen to Kosaku go on about a new idea or invention. She was more than happy to listen to the ramblings of a mad scientist. Especially one that she loved.

Though, over time, they started to drift apart. Kosaku would spend most of his time and energy on his current project, while Atsuko found herself alone, drinking a glass of wine on the patio. One glass of wine soon turned into two, and two glasses of wine soon turned into a mountain of paper work. Work she didn't really have to have done for another couple of weeks. She did it anyway.

The wine had turned into paperwork after she'd had too much one day and seduced Kosaku. The pillow talk Atsuko was hoping to have never happened. Kosaku got up to go back to work five minutes after he got off and left Atsuko high and dry. Atsuko didn't really care about all of that she just wanted to spend time with her husband. The man who supposedly loved her. She yelled. He stood there quietly. She yelled some more. He got angry and stormed off to his lab. She cried.

A few more failed attempts and a couple years later, she divorced him. The part that hurt most was that he put up no resistance whatsoever. He just looked at her and signed the papers.

Atsuko moved out a week later.

The divorce would be finalized next month and Atsuko Tokita had her family name officially changed back to Chiba.

The small apartment she'd been renting was enough for her. She had a decently sized place. A kitchen, living room and one bedroom. It even had balcony, which was nice. She would have a couple glasses of wine in the evening after, she finished the work she took home with her. It was nice and quiet. Peaceful.

The most exciting thing that had happened was her new neighbor moving into the empty apartment next door.

X

Atsuko was leaving her apartment earlier than usual one morning to work on a few things in the office. She opened the door abruptly and was surprised when it smacked something behind it, followed by a string of curses. Atsuko looked behind the door to see a woman she didn't recognize dressed in a tank top and running shorts clutching her bleeding nose and muttering. That's when she put two and two together. She just smacked one of her neighbors in the face with her door.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay? I didn't realize you were there," Atsuko apologized and took a handkerchief out of her bag and held it out to the woman.

The woman opened her eyes and looked at Atsuko. Her eyes were a brilliant green, her hair dark brown and tied up in the back, her asymmetrical fringe swept to the right. She had a very attractive face. Atsuko glanced down. And body.

The woman took the handkerchief, put it to her nose and tilted her head back.

"It's fine, it's fine. Happens all the time. Though, I can usually dodge 'em or stop before I'm hit. You're quite fast." The woman chuckled. "I'm Ame Yosutebito. Nice to meet you. I just moved in a couple weeks ago. I'm your new next door neighbor." She bowed.

"Atsuko Chiba. It's nice to meet you." Atsuko bowed back. "That's an odd name you have there."

Ame laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot actually... Um, well if you need anything I'm just a knock away. I should probably get this cleaned up. My run is going to have to wait."

"Yes, okay." Atsuko stood there as Ame turned to go back into her apartment. Then left as soon as the apartment door closed.

X

Atsuko spent the rest of the day avidly avoiding Kosaku and talking with Dr. Shima about a new project to help the patients with extreme paranoia understand and cope with their illness.

"Chiba-kun," Shima started, he never did conform to calling Atsuko 'Tokita'. Call it force of habbit. Atsuko was glad about this after he divorce. She still had people calling her 'Dr. Tokita' by accident.

"There's a great book out there called _Living With the Living: A Guide to Understanding People_," Shima continued to Atsuko while they were walking down the corridor to Shima's office. "The author is lecturing at the university nearby. It's open to the public, so I think you should sit in and take some notes. It could be helpful. Maybe you can turn on some of that Paprika charm and get them to help us with the project."

Atsuko resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the 'Paprika' comment. "I'll see what I can do. When is it?"

"Friday afternoon at one," he replied as he reached out for the handle of his office. "That's the day after tomorrow. Oh, and before I forget, take some time off will you? You're driving everyone mad with all the work you've been doing. You're making everyone look bad." He winked at her and opened the door. "Oh, and go home and don't come back until Monday morning."

She nodded and turned away; but not before seeing Kosaku talking animatedly about what he was working on when Shima entered.

When Atsuko got to her car, she resisted the urge to cry, but ended up wiping a few stray tears away. She started her car and went home to the only thing was waiting for her when she got back. A bottle of wine.

Atsuko didn't know what she was going to do with all this free time. Aside from the lecture she had to attend on Friday, there was nothing. She could start work on the project early though...

She opened the door to her apartment and kicked off her heels. In the kitchen, she reached for a glass and the bottle of wine that was waiting innocently for her on the counter. She brought both out to the balcony after taking her hair out and changing into some comfortable clothes.

When she sat down, she smelled smoke. Cigarette smoke. She looked over to the balcony adjacent to her right to see her neighbor Ame engrossed in a notebook and scribbling furiously. Ame sighed and sat back on her chair to take a long drag of her smoke, when she noticed Atsuko looking her way.

"Hey, Chiba-san! Nice night, huh?" Ame looked to the glass of wine in Atsuko's hand. "I'll drink with you, if you don't mind." Ame raised a glass from the table beside her to reveal a tumbler filled with clear liquid and a couple cubes of ice and raised it to Atsuko.

"I don't mind," Atsuko answered and raised her glass as well. "How's your nose?"

"Oh." Ame absently touched her nose. "Well, you broke it but it's all fixed up. I went to the emergency room."

Atsuko blanched, "Jesus! I'll pay for all the bills and..." She paused when she saw Ame grinning widely.

"I'm just kidding, it's fine. Just a bloody nose. Oh and, I don't know if you'll want your handkerchief back, but just in case you do, I washed it and everything. It's very nice. Looks expensive."

"Ah, no, it's alright. I can do without it. However, if there's anything I can do to make up for- well- slamming my door into your face, I'd be happy to oblige." She took a sip of her wine while Ame thought about her offer.

"Hm," Ame took a long inhale of her cigarette then snubbed it out. "Take me out to eat or something. There's a great place down the block that's walking distance. It's cheap and has great food."

"That sounds fair."

"Well, what are you doing right now?"

The doctor raised her glass once again. "Drowning my sorrows with alcohol."

"Sounds awful. Let's go now. You don't even need to get changed, just throw up your hair or something. This place is really casual. I'll go get ready. Pick you up in five." Ame winked and took her tumbler inside.

"Wait- Yosutebito-san!" Ame had closed the sliding door and went inside. "God, that's a mouthful," she muttered to herself before heading inside herself.

She threw on some jeans and downed the rest of her wine when she heard a knock at the door. She slipped on a pair of shoes and opened the door.

Ame was there in a pair of loose jeans and a fitted tee shirt.

"Ready?" Ame asked.

Atsuko nodded and the two walked down the short railed walkway and down the stairs to the diner on the corner.

The two took a booth and it seemed Ame knew one of the waitresses there. When Atsuko gave the other woman a look, Ame explained her familiarity with the place.

"I come here when I need to get out of the apartment, you know? When it feels like the walls are closing in on me and I can't write to save my life," Ame thanked the waitress for her coffee and took a sip.

"You're a writer then," Atsuko concluded, taking a sip of her own coffee.

"Yeah, some fiction, but mostly philosophy. My personal take on it anyway. Not much into psych but I've written a couple books on that too. My mother was bi-polar schizo affective. That got me interested in the subject. I wrote a book on how it was like living with her and taking care of her up until her death."

Atsuko gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

The brunette waved her off. "It's okay. Wasn't the best subject to start out the night, huh?" She chuckled. "What do you do anyway?"

Atsuko hummed. "I'm a doctor. I work with patients with mental illness and help them manage and, hopefully, understand their condition. However, it's the general public that I think needs to be more tolerant and accepting. Though, it's hard to get a grasp on what people go through if you've never been through it yourself." The doctor sighed. "Our company developed the DC Mini as well... We use that to treat depression along with a number of other diagnoses."

Ame looked like she'd been raring to go on a rant about the topic at hand, but switched mid stride at the mention of the DC Mini. "Oh, wow! The DC Mini? What's with all that shit that went down a few years ago? That had something to do with it I bet." Ame looked over her mug, eyes twinkling.

"I'm not at liberty to say. The fact that the DC Mini wasn't tied to those events is why we can still use it's completed version today."

"Ah, I see, the old 'no comment'. It's okay. Don't want someone like me knowing something like that. It'd get out, you know. Can't seem to keep my mouth shut about my own opinions and theories though. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble in the past. I'm too radical to hold down a job as a professor. God knows I've tried. But they don't want young minds to be corrupted by the likes of me." Ame laughed. "I'm too much of a free thinker."

"Many genius' were laughed at and ridiculed. Being a free thinker is probably your best asset." Atsuko said seriously.

The writer raised her eyebrows. "Why, thank you. Most people think it's my biggest downfall. But after I took to writing, it didn't take long for-"

"Here are your orders!" The cheerful waitress said as she set the plates down in front of them.

"Thank you."

"Thanks." Ame looked down at her plate. She definitely did not get a salad. She looked up to see Atsuko switching their plates. "Um, Chiba-san. I definitely ordered that salad."

"Ha-ha," the raven haired woman picked up her fork and began eating her salad. "Eat your burger, you carnivore."

Ame smiled. "Hm, so what would that make you? A vegitarian? I don't see any cheese in that salad. Or chicken. No bacon bits either. Vegan, maybe? Jeez, no wonder you're so thin."

"No, I would be what normal humans are. That being omnivore. It's late and if I eat something like that," she gestured to Ame's burger, "I'll gain ten pounds by morning." She paused before continuing. "How can you even eat that this late at night? Won't you gain weight?"

Ame shrugged. "I'm not too worried about it. I work out a lot. Plus I need the protein. You know, helps build muscle." She flexed a bicep. It was actually a lot larger than Atsuko would've thought.

Atsuko nodded. "That makes sense."

They finished up their meals and started back to the apartment complex. When Atsuko got to her door Ame spoke up.

"So, I'd invite you over to my place for a drink, but you probably have work in the morning so I won't. Good night, Chiba-san."

As Ame walked toward her own door Atsuko said hurriedly, "Actually, I'm off until Monday." She didn't know why she said it. A bit of Paprika seemed to be poking through in that instant.

The brunette turned. "Well, then." She seemed a bit bashful, which was odd, because she'd been so open all night. "Would you like to come in?"

Atsuko nodded and the two entered Ame's apartment.

"Make yourself comfortable. I only have gin. There's also some beer in the fridge, if you'd prefer that."

"Gin is fine." Atsuko said as she took off her shoes and took a seat on the plush, blue couch.

"I've got some sprite or tonic water to mix it with." Ame called from the kitchen.

"Tonic water would be great."

"My kind of girl!" Ame laughed as she poured the drinks into the same kind of tumbler she was drinking out of earlier and dropped a couple ice cubes in both. She brought them over and handed Atsuko her glass, taking a seat next to her. "What should we cheers to?"

Atsuko bit the corner of her lip and she saw Ame blush. What was that about? "How about new beginnings?"

"New beg- new beginnings? Yeah, sure. To new beginnings." Ame raised her glass and clinked it with Atsuko's.

X

Two months and a couple weeks later, Atsuko found herself sitting on Ame's couch working on her laptop. Ame was on the floor, a slew of colorful curses expelling from her mouth as she played some sort of game on her Playstation.

"You fucking cunt rags 'ave got nothing on this. Fuck yeah, you bitches can't handle the pure rage!" Ame threw her head back and laughed diabolically. When she looked back on the screen she was dead. "What the- Shit, you little fuckers!"

The doctor took this moment to look up and see Ame fuming. "Ame-kun."

"Jesus, 'Tsuko-chan, did you see what those twerps just did?"

"Ame."

The brunette took a deep breath to calm herself. "Sorry, what is it?"

"It's okay, you're doing great by yourself."

"What?"

"Calming down, I mean. Maybe you should take a break."

"Oh yeah, right. I probably should. I was getting a little to into it, huh?" Ame stood up then plopped back down on the couch. Atsuko took her laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of the couch and patted her lap.

Ame positively beamed and set her head in Atsuko's lap. Ame sighed contently and closed her eyes while Atsuko took her hair out of it's usual ponytail and ran her hands through it.

"I love when you play with my hair." Ame said, sighing again.

Atsuko hummed and smiled.

After their 'date' at the diner, Ame had asked her to go out again. The raven haired woman had declined at first, but when she found out that it was indeed Ame Yosutebito who was lecturing at the nearby university, they went out for an early dinner together. Ame said she would only answer her questions if they talked about it over dinner.

After that, they talked almost every day and even exchanged numbers. Atsuko found herself taking a little more than a liking to Ame and had to cover a smile while Ame stuttered out asking her on an official date.

They'd been together for a little over a month, never going further than kissing and some light groping. Atsuko had never been with another woman. Sure, she'd had crushes on some in the past. She always went by the premise that the outside didn't matter and she stuck to that. When their make outs got too heated, she'd make an excuse to leave or stop. Ame didn't push it either. She was willing to wait until Atsuko was ready to go further.

Now, seeing Ame so vulnerable and cute, she leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You're so adorable when you're not cursing profusely."

"And you're drop, dead gorgeous all the damn time." Ame smirked and brought a hand up to caress Atsuko's cheek. "And brilliant. And sexy. How did I get someone like you, hm?"

Atsuko rolled her eyes, a tinge of pink on her cheeks. "By being yourself. There was really no other way. Although, you swear like a sailor and work out way too much. Seriously, cuddling with you is like hugging a rock." Kosaku, was nothing if not... Large and squishy. Leave it to Atsuko to go from one extreme to another. "I would still lo-" She shook her head. It was way too early for all of that mess. "Like you if you gained a little weight."

"Mm, I know. I still have curves, you know." Ame replied, not seeming to notice the slip. "And I can't help if I love martial arts, and that entails working out. The two come hand in hand. No changing that. And running is just freeing."

Atsuko scratched Ame's head a little before running her hand through her hair again. "Your hair is getting pretty long, you could use a trim."

"Yeah, I noticed. It's halfway down my back already. Don't feel like paying for a trim though."

"Why don't you get your sister to cut it?"

"Dunno. I'll ask her tomorrow. Are you done with work?"

Atsuko played absently with a lock of the brunette's hair. "For now."

"Want to go out or something? There's this new movie out, and I can't find a good version on the web. I actually wouldn't mind paying to see this one."

"I'd rather stay in."

"We could watch a movie here."

"Let's do that then."

"Mkay. Be right back." Ame got up and went over to get the Playstation controller and sat back down on the couch. She flicked over to the Netflix and the two of them went through a bunch options before they chose a movie about three homeless people- a transvestite, an alcoholic and a runaway that find a baby in the trash.

Ame sat next to the arm of the couch, with an arm around Atsuko. The doctor was leaning against Ame comfortably, despite the hardness of the writer's body that Atsuko had jokingly complained about earlier.

About halfway through the movie Ame leaned in to kiss Atsuko on the head. Atsuko looked up at her. The brunette was a couple inches taller.

"What was that for?" She didn't know why she was whispering, but she was.

"I don't know. I just felt like it," Ame answered, shrugging with one shoulder. "Just like I feel like doing this..." She leaned in and kissed Atsuko lightly on the lips. She went to lean away when Atsuko stilled her movement with a hand to her cheek and kissed her back.

They pecked lightly on the lips a couple times, each kiss lasting longer than the one before, when Atsuko licked Ame's bottom lip and met the brunette's tongue with her own.

Atsuko was now halfway on top of the lap of her writer, one of Ame's arms snaked around the raven haired woman's waist, the other inching up a thigh. Atsuko's right arm was around Ame's neck the left placed innocuously on her clavicle.

Ame kissed down Atsuko's jaw and to her neck, nipping and sucking on the delicate, pale flesh as she went. The raven haired woman groaned when Ame found a particularly sensitive spot near the junction of her neck and shoulder. Spurred on by the vocalization, Ame ran a hand up Atsuko's shirt and under her bra, cupping a breast and ghosting a couple fingers over a nipple and pinching it between two fingers.

Atsuko all but moaned into Ame's ear.

"Fuck," Ame cursed under her breath as a pang of desire ran through her body and rang out in her lower abdomen. She lifted Atsuko's shirt over her head, followed swiftly by her bra, as the doctor straddled her and lifted Ame's shirt to join her clothes on the floor. She was unhooking Ame's bra when she spoke up.

"Are you sure about this?" The writer breathed, looking intently into Atsuko's dark blue eyes.

"So far, yes." Atsuko whispered back.

"Okay, good," was her answer before she let Atsuko take off her bra and press their fronts together.

Atsuko had to admit that Ame's breasts felt wonderful against hers. Before she really knew what she was doing, the doctor felt herself grinding against Ame hungrily. The brunette was working to get Atsuko's shorts off; and along with her own, they were discarded.

Ame was left in her boyshorts and Atsuko in her lacy black lingerie.

"Fuck, how are you so hot?" Ame growled as her eyes roamed the raven haired woman's body, slinking one of her hands toward Atsuko's pulsating center. When her hand met her clit, Atsuko bucked and inhaled sharply. Ame glided her middle finger up and down the sensitive nub.

"Circles," Atsuko breathed. Ame complied causing the former to groan loudly.

"Jesus, I love it when I make you moan." Ame slipped her hand down Atsuko's panties and dipped her finger briefly into Atsuko's sopping wet core and dragged them back up to her clit. "You're so wet."

"Mm, I want you to go down on me."

Ame couldn't flip Atsuko onto the couch fast enough. She pulled down her panties to reveal the trimmed hair beneath and flung the black lace somewhere neither of them would hope to find later.

Ame leaned down against Atsuko and kissed her with fervor. Atsuko responded just as enthusiastically. Ame made her way down Atsuko's body stopping at her breasts to take a nipple into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the areola and flicked the erect nipple with her tongue before moving on to the other and then kissing down her soft stomach to the apex of her thighs.

"Ame..."

Atsuko was squirming with anticipation and when Ame's mouth met with her lower lips she groaned loudly and bucked, grabbing Ame's head and hair. Ame moaned into her and the vibrations made Atsuko's toes curl. The brunette lapped thoroughly at Atsuko's clit and positioned two fingers by her entrance, which were welcomed eagerly.

"Ame!"

Ame pumped diligently into Atsuko over and over, which were met with cries of bliss, curling her fingers in just the right spot until Atsuko called out Ame's name as she came into the brunette's mouth.

Ame got up on her elbows and rested her head between Atsuko's breasts, both panting heavily.

"That was..." Atsuko started. Ame waited for her to finish. She never did.

"Atsuko?"

"Yeah?" She breathed, her fingers tracing random patterns on Ame's back.

"Just making sure."

"Making sure of what?" Atsuko asked with her eyes closed.

"You didn't pass out or die due to extreme ecstasy."

Atsuko snorted. "Sometimes I wonder if you really do have a Ph. D."

"Hey, I can have a doctorate and still be immature."

Atsuko hummed. "I know that all too well." She said cryptically. "Really though, Ame... That was the strongest orgasm I've had in quite a few years."

Ame smiled. "Glad I could be of service."

Atsuko looked down at the top of the brunette's head. "Come up here and hold me, you're heavier than you look."

Ame chuckled. "That would be the muscle at work." She moved up next to Atsuko and held her accordingly, nuzzling the top of her head and kissing it before resting her chin atop it as Atsuko nestled her head into Ame's neck.

Atsuko tried to surreptitiously creep her hand down Ame's stomach, feeling her hard muscled abdominals along the way.

"Mm," Ame hummed. "I think I know where this is going."

Atsuko smirked. "Do you?" Her hand traveled lower, slipping into the band of Ame's boyshorts and caressing the muscled v shape dipping into them and fingering Ame's hipbone gently. Ame felt a jolt of pleasure ripple through her, her lower abs twitching.

"That feels really good actually." Ame said lowly, her voice dripping with lust.

"Yeah?" The raven haired woman cooed in a sultry tone.

"Yeah..."

"How about this?" She asked, slipping her fingers between the folds of Ame's lower lips.

"_Yes_," Ame said grinding her hips into Atsuko's hand.

Atsuko rubbed the brunette's clit gently and took a nipple into her mouth, palming the other and tweaking her hardened nub.

"Kiss me," Ame breathed, bucking almost wildly into Atsuko's hand.

Atsuko did gladly, their tongues intermingling passionately. It wasn't long after that, that Ame came hard, twitching occasionally as she came down from her orgasm.

"Fuckin' A," Ame breathed as she put a hand to her forehead and ran a hand through her hair.

"At least you know how to articulate yourself." Atsuko teased. That got her a gentle smack on the buttocks.

"I would tell you to hush, but I like the sound of your voice."

"Mm..."

"God, I have to take this underwear off, they're totally ruined," the writer said while pulling her boyshorts down and kicking them off the rest of the way.

In the background, the movie was over and Netflix was on a page naming similar films to view if interested; the screen dimmed due to lack of activity.

X

Dr. Shima had noticed a change in Dr. Chiba over the past couple months. Dr. Chiba had been less on edge and happier than he'd seen her in years. He didn't quite know what to chalk it up to, but it was a welcome change.

When she came in that morning however, she was absolutely _glowing_. She even managed a 'hello' to Kosaku when they passed in the hallway.

He decided to find out, as inconspicuously as he could, how this change had come about.

"You've been utterly radiant as of late, Chiba-kun."

Atsuko glanced over her laptop and leaned back in her office chair when she saw Dr. Shima. "Am I?"

He smiled knowingly. "It's quite noticeable."

Atsuko smiled absently, eyes glazing over for a split second, before looking back to Shima and raising her brows in a playful challenge. When Shima caught the dreamy expression on Atsuko's face, everything clicked.

"About damn time, Dr. Chiba," he said smiling. "Call me, we'll all have lunch. I want to meet him." He turned to leave when Atsuko spoke. The single syllable almost a laugh in itself.

"Her."

Shima raised his brows, facing Atsuko once again and let out a hearty guffaw when he saw she was serious. "Of course! How could I be so ignorant?"

"It's Ame Yosutebito-san." Atsuko was smirking without restraint at this point.

"The lecture went better than you let on, Chiba-kun?" He half-asked, hands on his hips.

"Well, yes, but I met her before that. She moved in next door to me."

"Ah," Dr. Shima was smiling broadly. "How favorable. Tell her I'll be expecting lunch with the two of you by next week." On that note, he left Dr. Chiba's office.

Atsuko smiled and texted Ame about lunch. Then went back to the work on her laptop.


End file.
